Hear Me As I Am
by gemini69
Summary: Hermione Granger is staying at Grimmauld Place for the summer, with only her piano to keep her company. One night Severus Snape shows up beaten and bloody. Will she be able to save him?
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1  
Breathe Easy_**

I sat at the piano and stroked the melody running through my mind out of the beautifully, smooth ivory keys. My eyes slipped closed as I let my fingers run on their own. For some reason these chords had been following me around for weeks now and I simply had to get them out. So, here I was, playing it and writing down each key stroke on the blank pages before me. It was a rather hypnotizing melody to be honest. The music seemed to have a soul of it's own.

When the music had run it's course and I had written it all down I leaned back to stretch. I moaned and ran a hand over my face when I caught a glimpse of the clock. It was 2:13 a.m. and I had to be up in a little less than three hours to begin getting ready for work.

Though I was the only one living at Grimmauld Place for the summer I still worked to save up for my University fund. Everyone was a little nervous about me venturing out to work day after day but I refused to quit. I had agreed to be stowed away in Headquarters after the attack on my home but I refused to cower in a corner. I was not going to allow the Death Eaters to keep me from living my life. That was like letting them win. I was not about to do that. If anything I was a fighter.

I pulled myself from my thoughts and took the silencing spell off of the sitting room. Slowly I headed upstairs to my room to get a few hours sleep.

I woke about an hour later to a loud crash from downstairs followed by Mrs. Black's wails. I immediately grabbed my wand from the nightstand and sneaked down the hallway. As I rounded the corner my wand was already extended and a curse was formed on my lips. The sight that I was met with stole my breath.

There was someone laying on the ground just inside the foyer. The blood pooling around them took me back to the night my own home had been attacked and I quickly checked each room on the first floor. After my thorough sweep I headed back to try and determine if I could help whoever was currently occupying the floor. I dropped down on my knees beside the still figure and checked for a pulse. I soon found one. It was thready but it was there none the less. I levitated the unconscious person to the couch in the sitting room and began running diagnostic spells to determine the damage.

I quickly discovered that a hex had been placed to stop anyone from healing the wounds with magic. With a heavy sigh I headed up to my room and grabbed all of my first aid things. Thankfully I had picked up a thing or two from my parents and Madame Pomphrey. I conjured a sterile work table and set everything out. I let out a grateful sigh when I realized that the hex did not stop potions from working.

I tipped the person's chin up and poured a blood replenishing potion into their mouth while massaging their throat to help them swallow. When I had gotten in enough to help I quickly removed all of their clothing with the exception of undergarments and began to assess the damage. Whoever this was had been quite brutally tortured. There were lacerations and bruises littering practically every area of their body. I decided to start off with cleaning them so that I would know exactly what was needed.

I soaked a sponge in warm water and began to drag it over legs that were matted with already dried blood. As I worked the legs became whiter and the water turned redder and redder. After five minutes I had to conjure fresh water just so I could continue. Half an hour later gave me a clear view of everything but the face and I was nauseous at what I was faced with. Carefully I soaked the sponge in fresh water and began to clear his jaw working my way up to reveal a stubble roughened face and high, elegant cheekbones. Next was an aquiline nose and wide eyes. I gasped and dropped the sponge as the face of my old Potions professor was revealed. He had most likely been discovered by Voldemort or had done something to cause his master to be greatly displeased. I sighed and began washing his hair. When he was free of the old blood I surveyed the damage and knew immediately that many of the cuts would need stitches and more than a fair few were infected.

Sighing I reached over and picked up the rubbing alcohol. I placed all of the tools that I would be using into the bowl and poured the rubbing alcohol over them to sterilize everything. When I was finished I poured it over my hands and forearms. Turning I began soaking cloths in it and dabbing at some of his cuts hoping to prevent infection where I could and fight it where it had already set in. When I was finished sterilizing everything I began to set up my needle and thread. Some of the cuts had to have stitches. It was simply unavoidable.

I set to work on the larger, more dangerous wounds. There were seven total on his legs and only three on his torso that needed immediate attention. The main wound on his torso that worried me stretched from his left shoulder and went all the way down to his right hip in a zig zag motion. It looked as though it had been torn with a blunt object instead of cut and the shredded skin made me feel desperately ill. His Achilles tendons had also been cut and I winced in sympathy as I sewed the ends back together. Once the hex wore off I would vanish the stitches and simply heal them with magic but for now the thread would have to do. It would at least stop the bleeding.

At five I quickly called into work and told them that I had a family emergency and couldn't make it. My boss understood and told me to take as much time as I needed. I explained that it would most likely be a week before I could make it and he agreed to make arrangements for my temporary replacement. I hurriedly thanked him and ended the conversation.

I headed back into the sitting room and finished stitching Snape up. When the last stitch was in place I started sifting through the bag until I found a bottle of pain killer and a syringe. After tapping out the air bubbles I injected the Morphine/Demerol cocktail into his upper arm. It was an extremely small dose. Just enough to kill the edge.

With that done I headed over to the piano and began to play the first thing that came to mind. It was my favorite song and I began to sing the words of promise.

_Look into my eyes and you will see  
What you mean to me  
Search your heart - search your soul  
And when you find me there you'll search no more  
Don't tell me it's not worth trying for  
You can't tell me it's not worth dying for  
You know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you_

I allowed my eyes to close and slipped into the music. I knew this. It was safe. So I allowed myself to forget everything just for a moment and let the music take me away.

_Look into my my heart and you will find  
There's nothing there to hide  
Take me as I am - take my life  
I would give it all I would sacrifice  
Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for  
I can't help it there's nothing I want more  
You know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you_

_There's no love like your love  
And no other could give more love  
There's nowhere unless you're there  
All the time all the way_

_Don't tell me it's not worth trying for  
I can't help it there's nothing I want more  
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you  
Walk the wire for you - Yea, I'd die for you_

_You know it's true  
Everything I do- I do it for you_

As the last note died away I heard a moan behind me and I hurried over to the couch to check on my patient. His eyes were fluttering rapidly behind his eyelids and I immediately checked his pulse. It had grown stronger but was still slightly weak. With a growl he struck out at me with his hand and I winced as I watched the stitches covering his chest pull tight. He moaned as I gently grabbed his hand to stop him from hurting me or himself. I layed it down by his side and covered it with one of my own. My free hand reached up to gently cup his cheek in a soothing gesture. Apparently he did not find it so soothing since his eyes shot open and straight to mine. I stayed perfectly still as his eyes seemed to take in every feature of my face.

"Am I in heaven?" His voice rasped as though he had been screaming for days on end.

I smiled gently at the childlike question coming from the older man. "No. You're not."

A smile tilted the edges of his mouth up. "I didn't think so. I never thought that I deserved heaven." At this he began coughing violently and shuddering at each pull of the stitches. "If this isn't heaven then why am I seeing an angel?" His lips lifted as his hand came up to rest on my cheek. "Tell me, angel, what is your name?"

I laughed and covered his hand with my own. "No need to worry about that now, sir. You need to rest a bit and then I will answer all of your questions." I brushed the back of my fingers down his cheek and cupped his jaw. "Sleep now." I whispered. He simply nodded and obeyed with a smile.

As I sat back and stared at my ex Professor I prayed to God that someone from the Order would come by to visit me tomorrow. We had been searching for Severus Snape for weeks now thinking that he had gone MIA. I wasn't too sure that I could handle taking care of him all by myself. Hopefully Mrs. Weasley would show her mother hen colors soon and drop in to 'visit', which everyone knows means mollycoddle. I couldn't stand her hovering but if she showed I would at least have a little help.

The visit was overdue as I had already been living at Grimmauld Place alone for almost a week. As there were still three months left of summer hols I was sure to get plenty of visits soon. At least I hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2  
Head Under Water_**

I began wringing my hands after a few hours. I had barely slept and still no one had shown up. I wished desperately that I could floo call someone but Dumbledore had decided to disconnect the fireplaces as I was now in hiding. For once in her existence Mrs. Weasley had decided not to meddle in some one's life, and I was ready to kill her.

Finally I decided to succumb to the desperate need to sleep and curled up on the couch across from Snape so that I could continue to keep my eye on him.

Hours later I woke to the sound of pained moans coming from somewhere in my room. Why was there someone moaning in my room? At that simple thought my eyes shot open and the night before came back to me. Severus Snape had stumbled in broken and bleeding and collapsed on the floor to be taken care of by me.

Immediately I jumped up and darted the ten feet between couches in two steps. Kneeling, I checked his pulse to find that it was almost completely normal now. Snape was writhing underneath my hands and had tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. I quickly wiped them away and tried to find a single place on his body that didn't have a bruise or laceration so that I could shake him awake. Realizing that he might as well have been one large bruise I simple began to tap the side of his face gently. If he didn't wake from the nightmare he was having I was afraid he would pull the stitches and that would be absolutely miserable.

Realizing that the gentle taps were getting me nowhere I began adding a little more force. "Professor." _Tap._ "Professor, you need to wake up." _Tap._ OK. This was quite obviously _not_ working. "Snape." _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._ Dammit! He continued wriggling. I watched the area around each stitch redden and begin to puff up. I needed to figure something out and quickly. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. The taps continued as I thought. Whenever I had a nightmare my mother used to whisper to me and she said that it almost always worked. O.K. Plan B.

The taps stopped and I leaned down close to his ear. "_Severus._" I ran my hand through his hair. "_Severus, I'm here. There's no need to fight your demons alone."_ I continued the soothing motion of running my fingers through his hair and stroking his brow. "_Severus, come on now. Open your eyes for me, Severus._"

I leaned up and watched his face closely. His eyes had slowed behind the tightly closed lids and the moans were now mere whimpers. It seemed to be working quite well so I leaned back down. "_That's right, Severus. I'll take care of you._" His whimpers were slowing again. "_Let me take care of you, Severus. Please. I want to take care of you. Let me, Severus." _His whimpers stopped and his breathing slowed. "_That's it, Severus. Let go. Let me fight those demons for you._" I continued stroking his hair and he leaned into my touch.

Slowly his lids began to flicker up and open. I stopped whispering and continued the smooth easy strokes through his shoulder length black hair. I was shocked to realize the night before that it was not greasy as it had always looked. Maybe it had been in school but it most certainly wasn't now. I smiled as his eyes finally opened. They fixed on me and he smiled slightly before his eyes began to travel over the plains of my face. His eyes closed and a moan escaped him. Thinking that he was again in pain I stood and headed for my medical bag.

"Oh God!" I heard the moan and turned back to see his eyes open and fixated on me as I moved. "Not dead yet, I see." He made a pitiful attempt at sneering and only began a horrid fit of violent coughing.

"No." I grinned slightly as I soothed the coughs by rubbing his ribs. Remembering that it had helped soothe my own fits when I had pneumonia. "You're not." I stood again when the coughs subsided and reappeared moments later with my bag.

A ran another diagnostic spell and saw that though the hex had weakened it was still firmly in place. It would most likely be another day before it completely disappeared. Nodding I put down my wand and grabbed a syringe and filled it yet again with more of the Demerol that I had given him the night before.

His eyes widened as I approached him with the syringe and he tried to sit up to get away from me. I stopped him with a hand on his cheek. "It's alright. I won't hurt you." At his wary look I sighed and decided to explain the situation.

"O.K." I drawled out. "Let me explain." At his tiny, insecure nod I began to do just that. "You showed up here last night in desperate need of medical attention. I would never turn away anyone who was in your condition. After running a few diagnostic spells I found that a hex had been placed on you to stop anyone from healing you with magic." I stared intently into his face. "You should be thankful that I have some training in muggle medicine by the way. " I shrugged one shoulder and continued with my story. "I took a chance by giving you a blood replenishing potion. I figured that since it wasn't actually designed to heal it might work. Luckily I was right. So, after that was finished I had to see the extent of the damage. I quickly took care of your clothing and cleaned you up." His eyes widened and I smiled soothingly. "Don't worry. I didn't see anything. I was a little too preoccupied with the bruises and lacerations that you were covered in. Some of them needed stitches desperately. So I went to it after cleaning them all." His eyes had gone back to their normal size and were now guarded. "Your Achilles tendons had been cut and I had to sow them back together. Now, before you go off shouting." I raised a hand to stop him from doing just that. "I had to do something or they never would have healed right. Anyways, the hex will be gone in another day or so and I will be able to heal most of the damage with magic. You'll still need some care for a few weeks afterwards." I laid a hand on his and smiled slightly. "I couldn't have left you like that. It's just not in me. I'm sorry if that bothers you on some deep, emotional level, but it's just not in me."

I put my hand gently on his shoulder and put just enough pressure to make him lean back without hurting him. "Now, lay back please. I need to take a look at your wounds and possibly change your dressings." He nodded lightly and I began to clean my hands with the rubbing alcohol. At his odd look I smiled ass I pulled on the sterile gloves. "It's to keep you from getting an infection. If I touched you with my bare hands you might get a germ from me which could cause infection in your wounds." After explaining I began to take off the dressings one by one. When I was finished I examined his chest wound first. Slowly I touched the area around the wound to see exactly how tender he still was. Noticing his wince I immediately removed my hands from his torso. "I'm sorry." He nodded and I continued with my inspection.

The area around the stitches was no redder than it should have been. I nodded to myself and began to clean everything up with the alcohol before adding some antibiotic ointment to the wounds. When I was satisfied that none of the lacerations would become infected I began to cover them with fresh bandages. With his health taken care of I stood and vanished everything that wouldn't be needed further. "I'll make us some breakfast and some tea." I stood slowly and gathered my tools, putting them away in my medical bag.

With nothing left to do I swiped damp palms on my thighs and realized that I was still in my night things. Embarrassment took hold of me and I quickly ran into the kitchen to start on breakfast. As everything cooked I looked down at myself. I was wearing a small sleeping gown that I had bought to spoil myself. That was always my one weakness: fancy lingerie and sleepwear. The gown ended at mid-thigh with slits going up to my hips. The pale pink silk flowed around me like water. The top consisted of lace and more silk. It was my favorite of all of the nightgowns I owned. It, however, was not proper apparel to be wearing when in a house with an older man and no one else. Good lord. I can't believe that I had been walking around all morning barely dressed.

As the kettle whistled it's tune to let me know that it was done I shook myself from my thoughts and went about fixing the rest of the meal. I set everything up on a tray and hefted it into my arms. I carried it to the sitting room with my shoulders back and my head held high. I figured that if I had been walking around half naked all day then there was no point in being shy about it now.

I conjured a movable tray that would hover over Snape's body so as not to put any pressure on his wounded torso. We ate in silence. The air was thick with all of the things that weren't being said. When he had finished I banished the dishes back to the kitchen and vanished the tray.

Keeping a close eye on my patient I noticed the wince of pain as he moved. Sighing I realized that I had never given him the shot of Demerol as I had intended. I stood slowly and set about the regular sterilization and preparation of the syringe. I snapped gloves into place and made sure that there were no air bubbles in the syringe as I approached him.

He flinched away at the sight of the needle. Apparently he still did not trust me. I knelt on the floor next to the couch and sighed. "All right. This is a muggle drug called Demerol. It is meant to dull any pain. It will not incapacitate you in any way. You will still be able to talk and move it will simple dull the ache caused by your major wounds." He still looked shifty but relaxed slightly at my 'lecture' tone. "Pull down your pants and lean to your side." Whatever tension had eased from him immediately returned. I heaved a put upon sigh and looked directly at him. "Look... There are only two places where I can inject this since you are almost completely covered in bruises and lacerations. One would be your hip. Seeing as your hip bones are very prominent I am quite certain that that would be _extremely_ painful. The other is your buttocks." He grimaced slightly though I could not be sure if it was from his choices, the pain, or the fact that he would have to show me his butt either way. "Your choice." I shrugged to show my indifference.

I watched as he slowly pulled down his pants and leaned to where his face was pressed into the back of the couch. He had pulled his pants down enough to show a butt cheek but not his hip. Figuring that this was his decision, I cleaned the area with a swab and quickly stuck the needle under his skin and injected the medicine. I cleaned the spot and covered it with a muggle band aid. I tapped it a few times and pulled his pants back into place.

By the time he turned back over I was already disposing of the used syringe and gloves. I moved across the room to the lone bookcase and chose a Potions book for Snape to read and Shakespeare's sonnets for myself. After handing him the chosen book I sat on the lounge across from him and began to read, hoping to calm my nerves.

We passed at least an hour in satisfied silence before the feeling of his eyes on me forced me to look up. I locked eyes with him and simply raised a perfectly arched brow in question. He cleared his throat and placed the darker book beside him. "I was just wondering what I should call you. You have been taking care of me since I showed up and will, most likely, continue to take care of me for a little while. I was simply wondering what I should be calling you."

My other brow raised to join it's mate at this. I could not believe that he didn't recognize me. Before I could get up some steam for a rant in my mind I stopped and told myself to approach the situation logically. I had been a Hogwarts graduate for a few weeks but I had not seen this man in much longer. He had been on a mission for Dumbledore for over a year. I had changed quite a bit since he had disappeared. War will do that to a person.

I was now the leading researcher for the Order. I had been on many missions since Severus Snape had been gone. Between all of the battles and researching I had grown up quite a bit. The only logical conclusion would be that of course he wouldn't recognize me.

I brought myself back to the present and stared at the dark brooding man across from me. "Well, that all depends. You've called me many things over the years_, Professor._ Bookworm, know-it-all, Gryffindor, Granger, _Miss_ Granger. The only thing that you haven't really called me is my given name. In case you didn't know it, it's Hermione." I watched his eyes widen and his jaw drop slightly. A smirk graced my face. Apparently pain made it a little harder for dear old Severus Snape to hide his emotions. Just as this thought crossed my mind his shields shot back up and his face went blank.

A sneer appeared on his face. "Miss Granger." He growled those three syllables out in, what I can only assume, was an attempt to frighten me. It didn't work seeing as he was sitting on what was, currently, my couch wearing nothing save his underpants. I smirked again at his poor attempt at intimidation.

"Good choice." These words were thrown over my shoulder as I left the room. Well, chew on that, Severus Snape. I grinned. It was going to be a long, long recovery. I wondered how much fun I could have.

* * *

_A/N: Hey again, everyone! Here is the newest update for Hear Me As I Am. I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been great fun so far. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love to hear peoples opinions on my work so don't be afraid to let me know what you think about it. :)_

_catysmom-- I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying it. Hope that this was a quick enough update._

_DracoxHermioneztrueluv4eva-- It's nice to know that you seem to enjoy my work in general and not just Fighting Back. Hope you like this story as much._

_Heidi191976-- I hope it will be a great story as well. lol. Thank you for the compliment. I love reviews like this one. They make me feel very good about what I do. I can't wait to see how Hermione handles Snape either. I think that this story will turn out to be great fun. Hope you continue to enjoy it with me._

_theonlycorbitt-- Glad you like it so much. Hope the update was quick enough._

_The-Lady-Layla -- First off, I love the name. Layla is a favorite name of mine. Anyways.. thanks so much for the review. I am happy you enjoyed it so much._

_Silent Kunoichi aka Fiona-- Hope that this was soon enough. I must ask... What does your screen name mean? If you don't want to tell me then that is fine. I'm just a curious person._

_toughcookie19-- Thanks. Glad you like the beginning. Hope that you enjoy the rest of it as much._

_notwritten-- I am flattered that you enjoyed it so much. I am surprised that you brought up the floo call as I had planned to put that in this chapter anyways. Great minds and all that... lol. Hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last. Let me know what you think. _

_Thanks to all of my faithful readers. You all give me the inspiration to continue writing. As always I respect every one's opinions. Constructive criticism is fine with me because everyone has a little room to grow. :) If it directly attacks the author or is just down right spiteful then you know where the door is to this rabbit hole. Everyone else: Don't forget to smile :). Bria/ gemini69_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3  
The Nearness of You_**

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. The air was thick with heavy silences and glares which I ignored. When he realized that intimidation wasn't working the silence remained, but the glares were replaced with curious looks that I continued to ignore.

After dinner I headed upstairs to shower and change into a more decent night gown. I allowed the hot water to loosen the knots in my neck and back. I thought over my situation as I lathered myself with my favorite scent. Ten minutes later I walked into my room wrapped in a towel to look through my night wear. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything truly modest. After much debate I went with the gown that offered the most coverage. It was a floor length sleeping gown in blood red silk. The only thing holding it up were two spaghetti thin straps. The back was also virtually non-existent ending just above my butt.

I combed out my waist length hair before casting a quick drying spell. I sighed, wishing that I had the time to use a blow dryer. I desperately missed doing things the muggle way. I blew my bangs out of my face and tucked my wand into the garter I was wearing before heading downstairs.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin while staring at the closed doors of the sitting room. I prayed to God that Snape was asleep. I had transfigured the couch into a bed earlier in the day to ensure that he was comfortable in hopes that he would sleep.

I heaved a gentle sigh before quietly opening the door. What I saw brought a smile to my face. Snape was asleep on the transfigured bed with an open book resting lightly on his chest.

I quickly crossed the room to kneel by his side. As quietly and as gently as possible I lifted the book from his chest. I marked his place before setting it aside and pulling the blankets up to cover him. With a slight smile I smoothed his hair out of his face and rubbed the back of my knuckles over his cheek.

When I was finished I stood and crossed the room to the piano and ran my hand over the cover before sitting on the stool. I needed to play before I could sleep. it helped clear my mind and relax me. With a feeling of peace I lifted the lid and rolled the tension from my shoulders. I smiled as a melody filled my mind and seemed to flow from my fingertips. I played through the tune first and then began to sing, my eyes slipping closed of their own accord as they always did.

_It's not the pale moon that excites me  
That thrills and delights me  
Oh, no. It's just the nearness of you_

I allowed a sweet smile to bloom across my face as I thought over the lyrics. They were some of the most romantic words that were ever written. Whoever had written this music had quite obviously been in love with someone, and desperately.

I could not help but wonder if I would ever have that feeling. The most that I had ever had had been a relationship with Viktor Krum in fourth year and then a small fling with Ron. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Ron and I had not worked out as we never stopped arguing. We could never see eye to eye on anything. He also was never really attracted to me. He had never and would never see me as anything other than an annoying bookworm. No man ever had seen me as more than that.

I sighed and let the negative thoughts flow from me as I tried to imagine what it would be like to be loved so much. I allowed myself to imagine that I really felt the words that I was singing, that I really was happy just because someone was near me.

_Is it your sweet conversation  
That brings these sensations  
Oh, no. It's just the nearness of you_

I tried to imagine the man who would steal my heart in such a manner. I could not see his face but I could feel his arms around me. He was taller than me and my head only rested over his heart. His arms were fairly large and when they wrapped around me I felt completely safe. I couldn't hear his voice but I could feel the rumble of it in his chest under my ear. He made me feel like I was safe, like I was home.

_When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me  
All my wildest dreams came true_

I don't need sweet, whispered words to make me fall in love. All I would really need was someone who truly saw me for what and who I was and cared for me. I don't think that I would need someone to tell me how much they loved me every day or how much I meant to them. They way I see it in my mind I wouldn't need all of that because if I was truly in love and the feeling was mutual then I think that I would just _know._ I would know how much they loved me by the way they acted and treated me. After all, actions speak louder than words.

_I need no soft lights to enchant me  
If you'll only grant me the right  
To hold you ever so tight  
And to feel in the night the nearness of you_

The last notes died as the breeze coming through the window carried them away along with my voice. I sighed and put a hand over my heart before closing the lid and crossing to the couch that I would be sleeping on. Before laying down I checked on my patient one last time. Noting with happiness that he was sleeping soundly I layed down and pulled the fleece blanket up to cover me. With one last sigh I snuggled my face into the pillow and let sleep take me away.

* * *

_(Snape's P.O.V.)_

I heard her open the door to the sitting room and pause. Knowing that she was watching me I continued to pretend I was sleeping. I don't now why but something just compelled me. After a moment I heard her feet whisper across the floor and stop right beside me. She must have knelt because her breath fanned out across my uncovered arm and chest. i breathed deeply and inhaled her heavenly scent. A mix of spices floated under my nose and I began to identify them out of habit. It was an intoxicating blend of coconut, lime, verbena, vanilla, musk, calendula, avocado, lemon, hops, almond oil, rosemary, pine, aloe, and honey. It had to be a home blend as I had never smelled anything like it before. She had obviously chosen the aloe, avocado, calendula, honey and almond oil for their healing purposes. Where she had come up with the blend of scents was beyond me, but once mixed together they were the perfect perfume for her.

Her fingertips brushed across my skin drawing my thoughts from the way she smelled. I felt the heavy, comforting weight of the book lifted from my chest and heard her clearly sliding something into the pages before setting it aside. The blankets were tugged up gently to cover my bare form and then I felt long, gentle fingers brushing my hair aside. She seemed to linger for some reason as her knuckles brushed across my cheeks. I wanted desperately to turn into her touch but stopped myself just in time.

Soon after I heard her bare feet padding across the room. A few creaks followed and, before I could wonder what she was doing, I heard beautiful notes beginning to fill the room. Her sweet, smoky voice followed and I was immediately enchanted.

I couldn't resist the urge to take a peak at her. Though I had thought that her voice was enchanting it held no candle to the sight before me. I stared at her profile, drinking her in. Her bangs were brushed to the side, but kept falling to cover her closed lids. Her waist length curls flowed around her and tumbled down her chest revealing her back. The moonlight rained in through the uncovered, open window to gently caress her face. The gown that she wore was much more decent than the previous one. The blood red color was stunning with her pale skin and darker hair and eyes. She was breath taking.

I watched her elegant fingers dance across the ivory keys before closing my eyes and listening to the words that she was singing. As the lyrics washed over me I couldn't help but wonder who she was thinking about. She had to have someone on her mind for there to be such passion in her voice.

I glanced at her again and watched a slow, romantic smile bloom. She really was a picture. Not that I would ever admit to having such thoughts aloud. Even though she had grown up since I had last seen her I highly doubted that I would ever be able to think of her as anything other than an annoying know-it-all. Until she proved otherwise that would continue to be my opinion of her. She was beautiful though.

I sighed internally and laid back to let her voice and the piano lull me to sleep.

* * *

_A/N: Hey ya'll. Hope that this update was fast enough. It would have been up earlier in the week but the computer kept deleting everything I wrote down. That's why none of my stories have been updated in the past week- week and a half. The song in this is The Nearness of You by Norah Jones._

_brittlynn-- Thanks. I am really glad that you enjoy my stories. I hope that you continue to enjoy all of my work. _

_Hazel Love-- Glad that you are likin it so far. I'm having a lot of fun with this story and I think that writing them all alone in the big house is gonna be fun and hopeful laugh inducing. Hope you stick with me._

_notwritten-- Happy you like it. I will definitely keep smiling. Hope you do too. :)_

_DracoxHermioneztrueluv4eva-- It's nice to know that you like my work in general. I always like to hear that people enjoy all of my work. Hope the update was quick enough._

_catysmom-- Hope you stick with me and continue to enjoy. Thanks so much for the review. I love to hear from my readers._

_yapyap-- Glad you are liking my twist on this ever popular plot. Thanks for pointing out the slip up on the equine nose. lol. That was definitely a slip so I went back and changed it. if you catch anything else don't hesitate to let me know. lol. Thanks again!_

_Heidi191976-- Glad you liked the shot part. That had to be one of the most fun parts for me to write. I doubt he's gonna start being nice to her just cause she's caring for him. I see him as a very difficult patient. lol. Hope you keep enjoying this._

_SilverandSilent-- Glad you like this story so much. I will definitely be having more songs in this fic as I want her pianist skills to be a big part of the plot. Hope you stick with me._

_GoodMorningCampers-- First off: love the name. That's an interesting choice. Second: Thanks for reviewing. I love my reviewers! They make me enjoy writing that much more. The nursing thing is definitely overdone but I'm hoping that I can mix it up a bit. Nice to know that someone else enjoyed the 'Good choice' line. lol. I just threw that in to show a bit of her smart ass side.  
Cheers to you..._

_Martyjeannine-- Hope that this update was fast enough for you. I also hope to hear from you soon._

_Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. It means the world to me to hear form all of you. I like getting your opinions on things. As always, constructive criticism is accepted as everyone has room to grow. If it is a direct attack on the author or the story than you know where the door is to this rabbit hole. If you don't like it don't read it. To all of my faithful readers, whether you review or not, thanks for sharing in my chaotic thought processes. :)  
Til Next Time, Ya'll...  
Bria/gemini69_


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